חדש באתר: מיכי-בוט. עוזר חכם על כתבי הרב מיכאל אברהם.

Eternal fascism

שו"ת › קטגוריה: general › Eternal fascism
0 תן קול הסר קול
שאל לפני 2 חודשים

I read the essay "The Eternal Fascism" by Umberto Eco (1995). There he lists 14 different characteristics of "pre-fascism":

  1. Worship tradition
  2. Rejection of modernity
  3. Action for the sake of action and suspicion of culture
  4. Disagreement means betrayal.
  5. Fear of the different and xenophobia
  6. Appealing to a frustrated middle class
  7. Obsession with a plot to overthrow the government
  8. The enemy is too strong and too weak at the same time.
  9. Pacifism is joining the enemy.
  10. Contempt for the weak
  11. Education in the Light of Heroism, and the Cult of Death
  12. Machismo
  13. Qualitative populism
  14. "Renew" – promoting a poor vocabulary and misunderstandings in order to limit critical thinking.

2 sample quotes:
Characteristic 3: "Culture is suspicious insofar as it is identified with critical thinking. From the famous statement attributed to Goering ("When I hear the word culture I reach for my gun") to phrases like "stinking intellectuals," "radical snob," or "universities are the nests of communism" – suspicion of the intellectual world has always been a hallmark of pre-fascism."
Characteristic 9: "Pre-fascism does not "fight for life," but "lives for the struggle." Therefore, pacifism is joining the enemy, pacifism is bad because life is a constant war. This insight creates a Gog and Magog complex: as long as it is possible and necessary to defeat the enemy, a final battle must occur, after which the movement will dominate the world. Such a final solution implies a period of peace that will follow, a golden age that contradicts the principle of constant war. No fascist leader has been able to resolve this contradiction."
It seems that many of these characteristics can be found in Israel today, in different sectors and even ideologically opposed to each other.
Have these characteristics existed in Israel since its founding until today? Have they increased in recent years?

לגלות עוד מהאתר הרב מיכאל אברהם

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

השאר תגובה

0 Answers
0 תן קול הסר קול
מיכי צוות ענה לפני 2 חודשים
I haven't read this essay, but from the summary here it seems to me to be a generic text by leftists trying to silence anyone who doesn't think like them with pseudo-intellectual arguments. Some of these characteristics exist on both sides. Others may be a necessary but not sufficient condition, but a pulse is also a necessary but not sufficient condition for fascism. The two more detailed quotes you provided are an excellent example of the flawed thinking I described. Characteristic 3: Suspicion of critical thinking exists on both sides. Therefore, seeing it as a condition for fascism is about as true as having a pulse is a condition for fascism. Stalin did not treat intellectuals very differently from Goering. Suspicion of critical thinking is bad, but it has nothing to do with fascism. It characterizes ideological groups of any kind. There are those who fatten their brains by thinking critically and openly, when in fact they are as closed as a string bracelet. This characterizes anti-fascists more. When they say that universities are nests of communism or progressivism, there is also the option that it is true. So even if it is true, the person who says this is a pre-fascist? And a communist who says that universities are nests of Jews or nests of radicals or anything else is also a fascist? Was the person who said that there is nonsense that can only come out of the mouths of intellectuals a fascist? No, he was right. Feature 9: Here we have a simple logical fallacy. Opposition to pacifism is explained as a view that sees war as a sacred goal that stands on its own (not to serve anything else). But opposition to pacifism can also stem from the fact that it is simply dangerous. When we have an enemy fighting us, pacifists can make him win. This silly argument doesn't even fit the seven blessings of war. And in the margins of this section, he implicitly assumes that fascism advocates war for the sake of war. This is, of course, utter nonsense. Fascism fights for its goals, just like any other ideology. Whether you like the goals or not is another question. No fascist leader can succeed in solving a non-existent problem. These idiots manage to make me defend fascism. Just like our idiots manage to make me defend Bibi.

לגלות עוד מהאתר הרב מיכאל אברהם

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

השאר תגובה

© Copyright 2025,כל הזכויות שמורות  | 
Back to top button